Railway-track structure and method of making same.



. 1 G. H.IBARB0UR. RAILWAY TRACK STRUCTURE AND METHOD 0F MAKING SAME.

APPLICATION FTLED MAY3\,1916. I '1 ,252,647. Patented Jan. 8, 1918.

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17 mmm G. H. BARBOUR. RAILWAY TRACK STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

APPLICATION FILED MAY3I, T916.

wlTNEssEs este.

GEORGE I-I. HARBOUR, OF PITTSBURGH, PNNSYLVANIA.

RAILWAY-TRACK STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF MAKING- SAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. S, 1918.

Application filed May 31, 1916. Serial No. 100,762.

y To all whom t may concern.' 1

. sections showing my invention applied, re-

spectively, to four other forms or" track structures. j

Fig. 6a is a section on the line VI-VI of Fig. 7 is a detail. sectional view showing the initial shape of one form of rivet.

Fig. 8 is a similar view showing the completed rivet.

Figs. 9 and 10 are views similar, respectively, to Figs. 7 and 8, but showing another form of rivet.

Figs. 11 and12 are diagrammatic views showing differentcross sectional forms of ties which may be employed.

Fig. 13 is a sectional plan'view, partly diagrammatic, illustrating successive steps in the formation of the tubular rivets, and

Fig. 14 isa sectional plan view illustrating one method `of removing a rivet.

My invention has relation to railway track structures, and is designed to provide a structure of this character in which the parts of the structure are secured in a novel and effective manner, the use of ordinary trackbolts being obviated and such bolts being replaced by rivets of a peculiar character. My inventionalso provides a novel method for the manufacture of such structures.

My invention is particularly applicable to rail joints, although it may be used to advantage in various other structures, such as compound rails, rail braces, rail fastenings, etc.

Some of the main objects and advantages' of my invention will. be hereinafter pointed out more in detail.

Referring first to that embodiment of my invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the numeral 2 designates a track rail, 3 the splice bars,

4 is a metallic rail tie, and 5 suitable fastening-s attached to the tie and engaging` the base of the rail.

In accordance with my invention these parts are secured together by means of a plu-v rality of. hollow tubulairivets G. These rivets are each initially of the form shown in Fig. 7.P After the joint parts have been assembled and these rivets placedin -position, they are completed and secured in the manner shown in Fig. 13. rI`his figure repre' sent-s three successive operations. In the first operation the clamping jaws 7 of a riveting bull are set against one of the fish plates or splice bars 3, and a punch die 8 is ope-rated at the other side of the structure, the punch point 8u entering into the headed end of the hollow rivet and expanding the same within the rivet hole l0 in the splice bar, This rivet hole is preferably either punched in tapered form as shown, or is punched straight and tapered or lcountersunk to conical form. After this end of the rivet has been expanded to fil'l this tapered or conical hole as shown at (3 in Fig. 18, a similar punch die 9 is engaged with the opposite end portion of the rivet, and this end portion is similarly expanded and is at the same time rolled or peened over to forma `head 6b. This produces a finished tubular rivet having a central straight portion (3c eX- tending through the web of the rail, and an expanded conical portion 6a filling the tapered openings in the splice bars 8. Whereitis desired to form an insulated joint, insulating sleeves or bushings may be used.

around the rivet, as shown at 10 in Fig. 1, and insulating strips ll may also be placed between the bearing surfaces of the splice bars and rails.

It will be noted by reference to Fig. 1 that the splice bars are of peculiar form, in that each bar has four flanges, viz., two short flanges 3a which fit the fishing angles of the rail, and two deep outer flanges 3 which eX- ico tend a considerable distance from the rail I head and preferably terminate in vertically directed enlargements or ribs 3c. These splice bars are of substantially symmetrical cross section about their horizontal axes and are of a strength approximating that of the rail.

The present tendency toward increase in rail heights is largely the result of an attempt .to obtain a greater fishing distance between the head and base flanges. This increase in height, which results in an increase v in stiffness,isidetrimental, since the stiffery the rail the less able it is to adjust itself to the inequalities of the road bed. That is to say, the 'stiffer the rail, the less able is itto" undergo lthe necessary weaving movements which it must lhave owing to the cush-` ioning and yielding action of the ballast. The ordinary rail is also weak sidewise. That is to say, it is too'highfor its Iwidth, or is too narrow for'its height. My invention enables the use ofl a relatively low stocky rail section of a width substantially equal to its height and which, though weaker vertical-ly than rails of standard design, is much better adapted to withstand extraordinary shocks and blows and to adjust itself to the inequalities of its road bed, due to its.

-greater transverse strength andv increased flexibility. -This reduced height is made permissible by'reason of the form of angle bars illustrated and the use of the tubular rivets, the heads of which can be seated Within relatively narrow channels between the flanges of the splice bars lwhere the usual nuts could not be employed. By the use of the tubular rivets the rivet heads'niay be formed inthe manner described. This could not be done with ordinary solid rivets, with-Y out upsetting their body portions in the open spaces between the rails and the splice bars. By 'using tubular rivets expanded in the manner described, this difliculty is overcome, and the rivets.v used are 'of'greater strength than would be possessed by bolts of the same diameter's'l By the use of power means such as a compression riveter, the

. splice bars may be driven home at any desired pressure and riveted there; and by a similar operation may be again-compressed and the'rivets tightened shou-ld the joint work loose, thereby greatly facilitating the maintenance of tight joints and greatly reducing the liability of breaks in'the webs of the rails.` Such breaks usually occurI at th'e bolt h olcs, either as longitudinal splits or as a'breaking outof pieces of the'rail due to .the leverage set up at a loose joint and the severe blows to which the rail is there subjected. The use of power operated riveters'enables a small crew of experlenced Workmen to attend tothe upkeep of long stretches of track-and thus eliminates a large percentage 'of the unskilled and nrcliable floating'. labor now commonly em-- ployed for track maintenance.

en it is' necessary to remove a joint,

-this can be effected by the use of a power qthe surface ofthe tie,.so that the joints do f which' maybe either operated punch`12 With'suita-ble clamps 13 atv the opposite side of the rail, pressure being applied to the punch in the manner indicated in Fig. 14 to shear the rivet head' at that end. x

It -will be -notedthat the lower .d'eep flanges 3 of the splice bars terminate above `use 'of metal ties of different forms.

ings .such as shown at 5 maybe riveted to .the ties and engage thebase flanges of the rail in the manner shown in Fig. 1..l I also preferably chamfer the lower corners of the base flanges as indicated :at 14. This `in-l creases'the strength of the rail section under the conditions of combined vertical,- late'ra'.ll and torsional strains, due to the reduction in the distance from the centerof gravity of the rail to the extreme lower corners of its l My invention is'y also well adapted to. tjhe n Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown a tie formed of rolled sections, consisting each of the-inter.- niediate straight web portion 15, the upwardly bent portions 16, oneat each side of the web portion 15, each of said upwardly bent portions carrying the L-shaped flange 17 lforming a bearing for the railv base and v also a bearing portion to which the fastenlngs 5. are riveted.l The edge portions 17 of each tle beyond the outwardly bent portions preferably extend horizontally. in the horizontal plane of the web 15. This vform of tie' not only gives a double seat and fasten'- ing for the rails, but `a largely 'increased bearing on the ball-ast, so that vfewerof these ties are necessary for a givenlength of track. These ties also permit of` proper tamping of the ballast. I L Fig. 11 shows another form of sheet metal tie which is bentv or arched upwardly atits center portion as indicated at 18 with the two projecting.y L-shaped rail ,supporting lflanges 19 and the horizontal edge flanges 20.

Fig. 12 shows another .form of tie similar l i to that shown in Fig. 2, exceptthat the horizontal web portion v15 is omitted and the f edge flanges 17n extend in a vertical instead 4of a horizontal direction.

While I prefer to employ rivets which are tubular throughout theirr length, I may em` `ploy rivets having an ordinary head 21 at 'one end, and having the other end portionl tubular. and expanded and headed in the mannerabove described. This form of rivet is illustrated in Figs. 4, 9 and'lO.

In Fig. 3 I have shown my invenion applied to a track structure in the form of a 4 compound rail wherein the numerals 22 designate two separated supporting members having head portions22a vhaving the underf cut projections 2,3 between which is clamped. a dovctailed'projection 24 of a tread member 25. The two members 22 are secured by tubular rivets 26, similar to those first described. f The rail supporting member 27, a' tie or a tie plate, is

shown as having a T-shaped upward proj ection 28 which acts as a spacer for the members 22.

In Fig. 4 I have shown another form of compound rail in which the separable tread 29 is secured to the supporting member 3l) by means of a brace 31 engaged at its upper end with the tread 29 and at its' lower end caught between one edge of the base of the rail and a projection 32 on a tie plate 33. The brace and rail are secured kto each other by means of rivets 34, which I have shown as being of the form illustrated in detail in Figs. 9 and 10.

Fig. 5 shows another compound'rail structure in which the detachable tread 35 is secured to its supporting member 36 by a clamping member 37 secured to the web of the rail by tubular rivets 26a. This ligure` also shows the use of similar tubular rivets 38 for securing the rail tastenings to the tie 40.

Figs. 6 and 6 illustrate the use of tubular rivets 41 for securing the rail brace 42 to the rail 43. This rail brace is held at its lower end between one edge of the rail and the projection 44 of the tie plate 45. The brace is preferably of the flanged form shown, its flanges 45 abutting against the web of the rail.

I do not limit the application of my invention to the particular track structures which I have herein shown and described, since obviously it may be embodied in various other types of such structures.

By the terms hollow and tubular as used herein and in the appended claims, I intend to cover a rivet which is hollow along its entire length, as shown, for instance, in F ig. l, or which is hollow for a portion or port-ions of its length.

The rail tie herein shown and described will form the subject matter of a divisional application.

a tread member, members engaging the rail member` and having tapered rivet holes therein, and rivets securing said membersand having expanded conical portions filling said tapered holes, substantially asdescribed.

4. A railway track structure, comprising a tread member and an engaging member, said members having portions in Contact with eachother and other portions which are separated by an intervening space, and a hollow rivet holding said members inengagement and traversing said space, substantially as described.

5. The herein described method of securing the parts of railway track structures, which consists in inserting a tubular rivet through' the engaged parts, compressing the parts, and while under such compression, expanding at least one end portion of the rivet and forming a head thereon, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, Ihave hereunto set my hand.

' GEORGE H. BARBOUR.

vWitnesses Giro. B. BLEMING, FRANK ROTH. 

